Local Briefs

JUNEAU - Veterans Day will be observed Sunday in Juneau with a ceremony at the National Guard Armory and a free chili feed at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Taku Post 5559.

The program at the armory begins at 11 a.m. Keynote speaker is Adm. Thomas Barrett of the U.S. Coast Guard. American Legion Post 25 is running the program.

The chili feed begins immediately afterward, about noon, in the VFW building behind the Baranof Hotel, said local VFW Commander Jim Ruotsala.

Members of the VFW and Legion also will have a program at the Juneau Pioneers' Home at 2 p.m., Ruotsala said.

Gov. Tony Knowles, a Vietnam vet, will attend events in Anchorage on Sunday, said spokeswoman Claire Richardson. On Monday, Knowles will address the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce concerning funding priorities for veterans programs in the 2002 legislative session, Richardson said.

Student symphony performs Saturday

JUNEAU - The Juneau Student Symphony, an all-ages group directed by Rick Trostel, performs at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School commons.

The student symphony is a full symphony orchestra with 34 members, filling out strings, percussion, brass and woodwind sections. Members range in age from 10 to adult.

The group is part of the Juneau Symphony. It was started about 12 years ago as a youth symphony by Juneau-Douglas High School string teacher Fred Mayer. Trostel took over this year.

"The only requirement at the audition was a commitment to making the music more beautiful," Trostel said. "They're playing really well."

Saturday's concert will include pieces by Mouret, DelBorgo, Frackenpohl and Rimsky-Korsakov. The half-hour concert is free.

Wharf project gives ships more room

JUNEAU - A project to widen the North Ferry Dock downtown by 32 feet will mean more cruise ships can tie up at Juneau's wharf, Port Director Joe Graham said Wednesday at a public meeting about the project.

As ships get longer, there's less room at the dock for gangways, he said. The plan to widen the wharf will provide more room for pedestrians, additional space for gangways and will better meet Americans with Disability Act requirements, he said.

"If we don't do this this winter, next summer we'll be turning folks away," he said.

Funding for the project design is from cruise ship passenger fees. Port dues will cover $900,000 in construction costs, Graham said. Construction is scheduled to start in January and completed by May.

The ports and harbors department also is considering plans to build a two-story visitor information center and port office at the North Ferry Dock. The city doesn't have funding for the project and is seeking comments, Graham said. The 1,500-square-foot building would replace the current cruise ship terminal and would have a conference room, he said.

More students showed up in Juneau

JUNEAU - The Juneau School District will receive more than $350,000 in additional state funding because this year's enrollment figures exceeded projections, Superintendent Gary Bader said.

Bader said official tallies from October show 5,516 full-time equivalent students enrolled in the district this school year. The projected enrollment number, used to form this year's budget, was 5,444.

Last year, 5,481 students were enrolled in the district.

The extra state funding will go toward the salaries of teachers already hired this year to handle the higher number of students.